Cellular telephone with a changeable key arrangement

ABSTRACT

A cellular telephone with a changeable key arrangement has a housing, a first circuit board, a second circuit board, and a processor. The housing has a plurality of keys arranged in a first manner. The first circuit board is a rigid printed circuit board having a first connector on an upper side of the first circuit board. The second circuit board is installed above the first circuit board and below the plurality of keys. The second circuit board has a plurality of key switches arranged in the first manner for interacting with the plurality of keys to generate corresponding key-pressing signals, and a second connector detachably connected with the first connector for transmitting the key-pressing signals. The second circuit board is changeable so that keys arranged with different patterns can be installed onto the housing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a cellular telephone. Morespecifically, a cellular telephone with a changeable key arrangement isdisclosed.

[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art

[0004] Recently, the price of cellular telephone has been greatlyreduced and become affordable to lots of people. It is common that aperson owns more than one cellular phone. Some people even replace theircellular telephones as often as they replace their clothes or watches.In another aspect, consumers tend to buy new models instead of old ones.Therefore, cellular telephone manufactures must launch new models withdifferent appearances and styles more frequently so as to drawconsumers' attention and enjoy a more favorable market share.

[0005] To change the appearances of cellular telephones, some cellulartelephones have been equipped with changeablecovers. However, regardlesshow the cover is changed, the overall change in appearance is limitedbecause the key arrangements of these cellular phones are still fixed.

[0006] The cellular telephone industry, like other industries, hasevolved into a vertical market structure. Some manufacturers specializein design and mass production of cellular phones, while other companiesfocus on bringing these products to the market using their own brand.These are so called original design manufacture (ODM), or originalequipment manufacture (OEM), products. However, to differentiate theirproducts from other competitors, clients usually ask these manufacturersto produce products having greatly different appearances. As a result,to provide new clients with new product appearances, the manufacturersmust redesign their products and pass many certification requirements.This is uneconomic and time consuming for these manufactures.

[0007] Based upon experiences in product development, it becomes clearto the inventor that the change of appearances of cellular telephones isusually restricted by the key arrangement. If there is an easy andinexpensive way to change the key arrangement of cellular telephones,the mentioned problems could be solved.

[0008] Please refer to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of aconventional cellular telephone 10. The conventional cellular telephone10 has a housing 12, a printed circuit board 14, and a plurality of keys16. The printed circuit board 14 has a plurality of key switches 18 forinteracting with the plurality of keys 16 to generate correspondingkey-pressing signals. The arrangement of the keys 16 must be the same asthe arrangement of the key switches 18. Conventionally, if it is desiredthat the key arrangement be changed, the key switch arrangement mustfirst be changed. That means the circuitry of the printed circuit board14 must be changed as well, i.e. a new circuit board is required. As theprinted circuit board 14 is usually a rigid circuit board, and has ahigh cost, it is not economical to change the key arrangement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] It is therefore a primary objective of this invention to providea cellular telephone that can easily and economically change its keyarrangement.

[0010] The present invention, briefly summarized, discloses a cellulartelephone having a housing, a first circuit board installed in thehousing, and a second circuit board installed above the first circuitboard. The housing has a plurality of keys arranged in a first manner.The first circuit board is a rigid printed circuit board having a firstconnector on an upper side of the first circuit board. The secondcircuit board is below the plurality of keys. The second circuit boardhas a plurality of key switches arranged in the first manner forinteracting with the plurality of keys to generate correspondingkey-pressing signals, and a second connector detachably connected withthe first connector for transmitting the key-pressing signals. Thesecond circuit board is changeable so that keys arranged in differentpatterns can be installed onto the housing.

[0011] It is an advantage of the present invention that the keyarrangement can be easily changed by changing the second circuit boardinstead of the first circuit board. Thus, manufacturers and users candesign or use cellular telephones with greater flexibility, as needed.

[0012] These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubtbecome obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading thefollowing detailed description of the preferred embodiment, which isillustrated in the various figures and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013]FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a conventional cellulartelephone.

[0014]FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a cellular telephone according tothe present invention.

[0015]FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of first and second circuit boardsshown in FIG. 2.

[0016]FIG. 4 depicts a second connector that is not plugged into a firstconnector shown in FIG. 2.

[0017]FIG. 5 depicts a second connector plugged into a first connectorshown in FIG. 2.

[0018]FIG. 6 is another embodiment first connector of the cellular phoneshown in FIG. 2.

[0019]FIG. 7 depicts a second circuit board shown in FIG. 2 plugged intoa first connector shown in FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0020] Please refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagramof a cellular telephone 20 according to the present invention. FIG. 3 isa schematic diagram of first and second circuit boards 24, 26 shown inFIG. 2. The cellular telephone 20 comprises a housing 22, a firstcircuit board 24, a second circuit board 26, and a plurality of keys 30arranged in a first manner. The first and second circuit boards 24, 26are installed inside the housing 22. The second circuit board 26 isbelow the plurality of keys, and fixed on the first circuit board 24with a fastener or screws.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 3, the first circuit board 24 is a rigid printedcircuit board. The first circuit board 24 has a first connector 32, aswitch device 34, a processor 28, and a plurality of key switches 40arranged in a second manner. The second circuit board 26 is a flexibleprinted circuit board (FPCB), which comprises a second connector 33, anda plurality of key switches 38 arranged in the first manner on an upperside of the second circuit board 26. The key switches 38 are used tointeract with the plurality of keys 30 to generate correspondingkey-pressing signals. The second connector 33 is detachably connectedwith the first connector 32 for transmitting the key-pressing signals.

[0022] The processor 28 is installed inside the housing 22 and iselectrically connected to the first connector 32 for processing thekey-pressing signals from the first circuit board 24 or the secondcircuit board 26 to control the cellular telephone 20. The secondcircuit board 26 is changeable so that keys arranged in differentmanners can be installed onto the housing 22.

[0023] The switch device 34 is electrically connected between theprocessor 28 and the key switches 40, 38 of the first and second circuitboards 24, 26, and is used to switch the processor 28 between the keyswitches 40, 38 of the first or second circuit boards 24, 26. The switchdevice 34 thus determines which key-pressing signals are sent to theprocessor 28.

[0024] Please refer to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5. FIG. 4 depicts the secondconnector 33 not plugged into the first connector shown in FIG. 2. FIG.5 depicts the second connector 33 plugged into the first connector shownin FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 4, when the second connector 33 of thesecond circuit board 26 is not plugged into the first connector 32 ofthe first circuit board 24, the switch device 34 will electricallyconnect the key switches 40 of the first circuit board 24 to theprocessor 28 so that the key-pressing signals generated by the firstcircuit board 24 can be transmitted to the processor 28. As shown inFIG. 5, when the second connector 33 of the second circuit board 26 isplugged into the first connector 32 of the first circuit board 24, theswitch device 34 will electrically connect the key switches 38 of thesecond circuit board 26 to the processor 28 so that the key-pressingsignals generated by the second circuit board 26 can be transmitted tothe processor 28. The switching action of the switch device 34 can beautomatic or manual. If the switch device 34 is to switch automatically,the switch device 34 must sense the existence of the second circuitboard 26, and switch the processor 28 to the key switches 38 of thesecond circuit boards 26. When the switch device 34 is switchedmanually, the users or the manufacturers can set the connection to beeither between the processor 28 and the key switches 40 of the firstcircuit board 24, or between the processor 28 and key switches 38 of thesecond circuit board 26.

[0025] Please refer to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7. FIG. 6 is another embodimentfirst connector 40 of the cellular phone 20 shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 7depicts the second circuit board 26 shown in FIG. 2 plugged into thefirst connector 40 shown in FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 6, the firstconnector 40 of the first circuit board 24 comprises at least oneelastic metallic piece 42, and the metallic piece 42 is in contact withthe first circuit board 24 so as to form an electrical connectionbetween the first circuit board 24 and the processor 28. When the secondcircuit board 26 is plugged into the first circuit board 24, as shown inFIG. 7, the metallic piece 42 is lifted by the second circuit board 26,and an electrical connection between the second circuit board 26 and theprocessor 28 is established to replace the electrical connection betweenthe first circuit board 24 and the processor 28. This could also achievethe switching function without the said switch device 34.

[0026] In contrast to the conventional art, the present inventioncomprises a changeable second circuit board 26, and the key arrangementis thus not restricted by the first circuit board 24. In addition, thechangeable second circuit board 26 is flexible printed circuit board(FPCB), therefore the cost of changing the second circuit board 26 islow. Therefore, the manufacturers can design many different kinds ofsecond circuit board 26 with different key switch arrangements so as tochange the appearance of the cellular telephone with low cost, and meetthe clients' needs. Because this method avoids redesigning of theoriginal circuitry of the cellular telephone, a large amount of redesigncost and time is saved, and additional certification requirements canalso be avoided.

[0027] Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerousmodifications and alterations of the device may be made while retainingthe teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure shouldbe construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A cellular telephone comprising: a housing havinga plurality of keys arranged in a first manner on an upper side of thehousing; a first circuit board installed inside the housing, the firstcircuit board being a rigid printed circuit board having a firstconnector on an upper side of the first circuit board; a second circuitboard installed on an upper side of the first circuit board and belowthe plurality of keys, the second circuit board having a plurality ofkey switches arranged in the first manner on an upper side of the secondcircuit board for interacting with the plurality of keys to generatecorresponding key-pressing signals, and a second connector detachablyconnected with the first connector for transmitting the key-pressingsignals; and a processor installed inside the housing and electricallyconnected to the first connector for processing the key-pressing signalsfrom the first or second circuit board to control the cellulartelephone; wherein the second circuit board is changeable so that keysarranged in different manners can be installed onto the housing.
 2. Thecellular telephone of claim 1 wherein the processor is installed on thefirst circuit board.
 3. The cellular telephone of claim 1 wherein thesecond circuit board is a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB).
 4. Thecellular telephone of claim 3 wherein the second circuit board is fixedon the first circuit board with a fastener or screws.
 5. The cellulartelephone of claim 1 wherein the first circuit board further comprises aplurality of key switches arranged in a second manner on the upper sideof the first circuit board, and a switch device is electricallyconnected between the processor and the key switches of the first andsecond circuit boards for switching the processor between the keyswitches of the first or second circuit boards; wherein when the secondconnector of the second circuit board is plugged into the firstconnector of the first circuit board, the switch device willelectrically connect the key switches of the second circuit board to theprocessor so that the key-pressing signals generated by the secondcircuit board can be transmitted to the processor, and when the secondconnector of the second circuit board is not plugged into the firstconnector of the first circuit board, the switch device willelectrically connect the key switches of the first circuit board to theprocessor so that the key-pressing signals generated by the firstcircuit board can be transmitted to the processor.
 6. The cellulartelephone of claim 1 wherein the first connector of the first circuitboard further comprises at least one metallic piece, and the metallicpiece is in contact with the first circuit board so as to form anelectrical connection between the first circuit board and the processor,and when the second circuit board is plugged into the first circuitboard, the metallic piece will be lifted by the second circuit board,and an electrical connection between the second circuit board and theprocessor is established in place of the electrical connection betweenthe first circuit board and the processor.
 7. A cellular telephonecomprising: a housing having a plurality of keys arranged in a secondmanner on an upper side of the housing; a first circuit board installedinside the housing, the first circuit board having a first connector; asecond circuit board installed inside the housing, the second circuitboard having a plurality of second key switches arranged in the secondmanner for interacting with the plurality of keys to generatecorresponding key-pressing signals, and a second connector detachablyconnected with the first connector for transmitting the key-pressingsignals; and a processor installed inside the housing and electricallyconnected to the first connector; wherein when the second connectorconnects with the first connector, the key-pressing signals from thesecond circuit board will be received by the processor to control thecellular telephone.
 8. The cellular telephone of claim 7 wherein theprocessor is installed on the first circuit board.
 9. The cellulartelephone of claim 7 wherein the second circuit board is a flexibleprinted circuit board (FPCB).
 10. The cellular telephone of claim 7wherein the second circuit board is fixed on the first circuit boardwith a fastener or screws.
 11. The cellular telephone of claim 7 whereinthe first circuit board further comprises a plurality of first keyswitches arranged in a first manner on the first circuit board, and aswitch device is electrically connected between the processor and thefirst key switches and the second key switches for switching theprocessor between the first key switches or the second key switches,wherein when the second connector of the second circuit board is pluggedinto the first connector of the first circuit board, the switch devicewill electrically connect the second key switches of the second circuitboard to the processor so that the key-pressing signals generated by thesecond circuit board can be transmitted to the processor, and when thesecond connector of the second circuit board is not plugged into thefirst connector of the first circuit board, the switch device willelectrically connect the first key switches of the first circuit boardto the processor so that the key-pressing signals generated by the firstcircuit board can be transmitted to the processor.
 12. The cellulartelephone of claim 7 wherein the first connector of the first circuitboard further comprises at least one metallic piece, and the metallicpiece is in contact with the first circuit board so as to form anelectrical connection between the first circuit board and the processor,and when the second circuit board is plugged into the first circuitboard, the metallic piece will be lifted by the second circuit board,and an electrical connection between the second circuit board and theprocessor is established to replace the electrical connection betweenthe first circuit board and the processor.
 13. A cellular telephonecomprising: a housing having a plurality of keys arranged in a secondmanner on an upper side of the housing; a rigid printed circuit boardinstalled inside the housing, the rigid printed circuit board having afirst connector; a flexible printed circuit board installed inside thehousing, the flexible printed circuit board having a plurality of secondkey switches arranged in the second manner for interacting with theplurality of keys to generate corresponding key-pressing signals, and asecond connector detachably connected with the first connector fortransmitting the key-pressing signals; and a processor installed insidethe housing and electrically connected to the first connector; whereinwhen the second connector connects with the first connector, thekey-pressing signals from the flexible printed circuit board will bereceived by the processor to control the cellular telephone.
 14. Thecellular telephone of claim 13 wherein the processor is installed on therigid printed circuit board.
 15. The cellular telephone of claim 13wherein the flexible printed circuit board is fixed on the rigid printedcircuit board with a fastener or screws.
 16. The cellular telephone ofclaim 13 wherein the rigid printed circuit board further comprises aplurality of first key switches arranged in a second manner, and aswitch device is electrically connected between the processor and thefirst key switches and the second key switches for switching theprocessor between the first key switches and the second key switches,wherein when the second connector of the flexible printed circuit boardis plugged into the first connector of the rigid printed circuit board,the switch device will electrically connect the second key switches ofthe flexible printed circuit board to the processor so that thekey-pressing signals generated by the flexible printed circuit board canbe transmitted to the processor, and when the second connector of theflexible printed circuit board is not plugged into the first connector,the switch device will electrically connect the first key switches ofthe rigid printed circuit board to the processor so that thekey-pressing signals generated by the rigid printed circuit board can betransmitted to the processor.
 17. The cellular telephone of claim 13wherein the first connector of the first circuit board further comprisesat least one metallic piece, and the metallic piece is in contact withthe rigid printed circuit board so as to form an electrical connectionbetween the rigid printed circuit board and the processor, and when theflexible printed circuit board is plugged into the rigid printed circuitboard, the metallic piece will be lifted by the flexible printed circuitboard, and an electrical connection between the flexible printed circuitboard and the processor is established to replace the electricalconnection between the rigid printed circuit board and the processor.